President Muhammadu Buhari says Nigeria is committed to promoting peace and harmony among ECOWAS countries.
The President said this on Wednesday when he received updates from former President Goodluck Jonathan at the state house on the face-off between Mali and Cote D’Ivoire over detained Ivorian soldiers in Mali.
Former President Jonathan is ECOWAS Special Envoy on the situation in Mali.
About 49 Ivorian soldiers had been detained in Mali for ‘unlawful entry,’ and only the three females in the team have been released, leaving 46. The development is threatening a rupture in the relationship between the two countries.
Cote D’Ivoire has condemned the act as ‘hostage taking,’ and says it may take action, hence the need for intervention of ECOWAS leaders, as advocated by the Special Envoy, former President Jonathan.
A statement issued by the special adviser to the president on media and publicity Femi Adesina says President Buhari pledged an initiative from Nigeria, towards immediate resolution of the impasse.
Editor : Ena Agbanoma